Why places are haunted

Patients were physically restrained and often given inhumane treatments, such as electroshock therapy and lobotomies. After more than a century in operation, the facility was forced to close in due to reforms in mental health treatment and the deterioration of the building.

Related: How did 18th-century vampire hunters identify the undead? Spooky Fact: The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum is the largest hand-cut stone masonry building in North America, and supposedly the second largest in the world after the Kremlin in Moscow. Visit during October to participate in ghost hunts , paranormal tours and flashlight tours, or attend the annual Asylum Haunted House. All rights reserved. This story was updated on October 2, It was originally published on October 26, Share Tweet Email.

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Magazine How one image captures 21 hours of a volcanic eruption. California is second on the list, with 6, reports since Ohio comes in third with 2, sightings. A new list ranks the most haunted states in America.

You might want to put your head back under the So what makes a place haunted? Other telltale signs: cold spots, creepy sensations or the feeling that you're being watched. Then the place for you is Delaware, which came in last on the list, thanks to the fewest apparitions in the United states.

Here, we take a look at the top 10 scariest states and some of the spookiest highlights. Spoiler alert: If you want to sleep easy tonight, stop reading now. Texas: Texas tops the list of the most haunted state in America.

After all, this is the home of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre and locations like Marfa. Way out west in the middle of nowhere, this tumbleweed town has a reputation for its cool art scene and the mysterious Marfa Lights. People started spotting these unexplained colorful glowing orbs back in the 19th century. Spooky Spot: Remember the Alamo? Seems that ghosts do, too. Many people say San Antonio is the most haunted city in Texas—which is no surprise, since it was the setting for one of the deadliest battles in America.

The property once housed a morgue and a psychiatric ward and is now known for its paranormal activity. Here, hikers report seeing the ghost of a dead commander staring at them through the hospital windows. Spooky Spot: You could say that the city of angels is also the city of ghosts. The property embraces its spooky side with ghost-hunting tours. One of the creepiest rooms is Stateroom B , which has had so many scary episodes that it was closed off for a number of years.

The Ohio State Reformatory in Mansfield—as creepy today as it was in Photo by ullstein There are several fault lines under Portland, Ore. The Shanghai Tunnels, which run beneath the buildings and streets of Portland, were used in the s to kidnap people and ship them off to Asia as slaves and prostitutes. A saloon owner may get you properly drunk, the lore goes, and then send you down a secret hatch -- never to be seen again.

Some say those spirits still roam the tunnels and during tours, visitors have reported hearing whistling, smelling fragrances — or even being touched. Its employees have reported smelling smoke when there is no fire, being overwhelmed by the smell of cheap perfume, and even flying objects.

San Francisco, like Portland, has fault lines and water working in its ghostly favor. The Cameron House in Chinatown, once a hiding place for immigrants to escape the brutality of the police, was burned down with people inside — and some say they remain trapped there, even turning up in photographs now and again.

A police officer is said to roam Golden Gate Park and a former head mistress is thought to be presiding over her old girls school, now the Queen Anne Hotel. And at Alcatraz, the damp, punishing island prison where some of the most notorious prisoners were sent, some say there are inmates serving not just life — but eternity. Visitors have reported hearing voices — and the sounds of cell doors closing.

Chicago, where gangsters and Confederate soldiers once roamed, sits on several fault lines as well as Lake Michigan, which makes it a perfect corridor for the paranormal. Gangsters used to like to dump the bodies here and some say you can still hear screams from the Clark Street Bridge.

There are over 6, Confederate soldiers buried at Oak Woods Cemetery during the Civil War, and strange figures have been reported there. Plus, two rivers run through it, providing liquid fuel for a ghostly fire. At the Brick House and the Thirteenth Step, legend has it that the ghosts of scorned lovers linger.

The downtown area, known as The Battery, was an artillery installation during the Civil War. Guests at the Battery Carriage House Inn may find their room already taken — some male guests have reported waking to see a man standing by their bed, while some female guests have reported a male ghost, ahem, in their bed. Not just because of its history, but also because of its geography: There is a lot of limestone, which is porous, letting water — and the spirits — pass through.

One of its most famous haunts is the Castillo de San Marcos, a star-shaped fort, where the spirits of soldiers — and a love triangle past — may still roam. Years later, they found bones in a dungeon. And, to this day, some people still see the ghost of the woman, Delores, and smell her rose-scented perfume — the very perfume that may have given her love away.

It is also said that if you put your ear to one of the walls — you can still hear the sounds of battle — and blood-curdling screams.